Bright spells
Bright spells
The warmer seasons brought us The British & International Franchise Exhibition in the spring and the Scottish Franchise Showcase this summer, both events proved that the franchising light is burning bright
The British & International Franchise Exhibition
Exhibitors at The British & International Franchise Exhibition enjoyed two busy days of meeting top quality prospective franchisees and collected a large number of new business leads. Despite the economic downturn, franchisors found a steady flow of serious investors visited their stands.
With visitors travelling from across the UK to attend, exhibitors also noted the excellent mix of potential franchisees at the show, many of whom had notable levels of capital to invest in a franchise.
One of the reasons for this success can be attributed to Venture Marketing Group (VMG) exploring new avenues to increase awareness of franchising to the general public. There is a whole new market to target including those who have recently been made redundant, where people are looking to change their careers in ways they may not have thought of previously; and individuals who have retired and decided that their pension would be better invested in a franchise than in the bank.
To ensure franchising is seen as a viable option for people, the extensive marketing campaign has consisted of widespread television, radio, and print advertising as well as coverage in a range of national, regional and trade publications, and an exclusive feature on the BBC Breakfast News.
FastSigns Managing Director Garth Allison commented: “This exhibition has raised the bar. The marketing and organisation of the exhibition has been excellent and has clearly helped to attract many genuine prospects to the show. We’ve had a good show and gained a lot of interest. Many people still in employment are coming to see us, committed and ready to make a decision.”
0800 Handyman Managing Director Clive Smith added: “We’re very pleased with the high quality and number of visitors. Many of them are committed to finding a franchise and ready to invest in a business.”
The exhibition was once again held in association with the British Franchise Association (bfa), who work very closely with VMG to promote ethical franchising both at the exhibition and across the industry as a whole. This exclusive relationship makes the VMG events unique, and provides franchisors not only with an effective means of recruiting high calibre franchisees for their business, but also the opportunity to be part of the leading franchise exhibitions in the UK.
This year saw a number of changes to the exhibition; The Franchise Starting Point sponsored by McDonald’s offered visitors the opportunity to meet one-to-one with lawyers, bankers, consultants and franchisors to discuss their individual needs and gain guidance on their route into franchising. The bfa seminars were developed further to entice more visitors to the exhibition with the variety of topics covered, as well as tempting them to stay for more sessions.
Trevor Brocklebank, managing director of Home Instead Senior Care said: “We’ve had a fantastic time. We’ve had people queuing to speak to us and we were busy for hours. The quality of visitors has been excellent. Many of them had researched us before they came and some specifically came to meet us. This is the first time we’ve exhibited and we’ve found it to be a very efficient way for both ourselves and prospects to get to know whether we could work together.”
Andy Pitt, national franchising manager at McDonald’s commented: “We’ve had a lot of interest in franchises with prospects for business all over the world. The exhibition has been excellent – well publicised and well marketed. Face-to-face meetings are an important stage in the development process with prospects.”
The Scottish Franchise Showcase
The Scottish Franchise Showcase in the summer proved there are still many businesses making profits and expanding within Scotland, and many people keen to take control of their future by investing in a franchise.
Held at the Glasgow Royal Concert Halls, the event was launched in response to the increasing confidence in the franchising model during the downturn.
Energie Fitness Clubs, Shokk Energie Youth Fitness, WPA, Dublcheck and Snap-on Tools sponsored the event and added to the diverse list of exhibitors attending the showcase from a wide range of recession-resilient industries. There was something there for everyone; from slimming organisations and elderly care to house repairs and financial services providers.
The Scottish Franchise Showcase is Scotland’s only event supported by the British Franchise Association (bfa), who work closely with VMG to ensure ethical franchising at the event and across the industry. As a bfa-endorsed event, all franchises exhibiting are guaranteed to be bfa-accredited so visitors can be confident in all franchise opportunities presented to them.
In order to cater for people with varying degrees of franchise knowledge, the showcase offered a range of seminars designed to guide people at all stages, from choosing a franchise industry to finalising agreements between franchisees and franchisors.
In addition, the event sponsors presented case-study seminars giving visitors the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the real, everyday lives of those involved in franchising, the franchise’s business model, the services they offer and the processes involved in buying one.
More and more people are learning about the benefits of an already established brand, proven business structure and on-hand support, that franchising offers.
“It’s important for people to realise how franchising can be a real success – even in a downturn – as they are buying into an established brand, with a proven business model and with as much help and support as they need,” said Michael Seaman, Franchise Portfolio Manager at Venture Marketing Group, organisers of the Scottish Franchise Showcase.
